Smile for Me
by Alaena F. Dragonstar
Summary: When Kaito spotted Shinichi on the streets, he knew he'd found the solution to his problem. Shinichi isn't about to do anything for his crazy kidnapper, but it seems things aren't that simple. It's the beginning of a strange relationship. :KaiShin:
1. The Problem

Disclaimer: I don't own the DCMK characters.

**Genre**: Humor/Romance/Friendship

**Rating**: T

**Pairing**: KaiShin [KaitoxShinichi], possible HeiKazu and HakuRan

**Summary**: When Kaito spotted Shinichi on the streets, he knew he'd found the solution to his problem. Shinichi isn't about to do anything for his crazy kidnapper, but it seems things aren't that simple. It's the beginning of a strange relationship.

* * *

**Smile for Me**

1: The Problem

When he'd first been told that he would have to go to the annual Skyline Banquet, Kuroba Kaito hadn't thought much about it. He'd always known he would eventually step into his father's shoes as Ekoda's head magician. It was what the aristocracy did, really, and he was proud to be the heir to one of the most prominent magician bloodlines in the world.

It wasn't until he looked at his calendar that he realized the banquet was being held on the same day as Ekoda's biggest festival. Held once every ten years since the day the city had been named, it was a day for everyone to celebrate the achievements of the past decade. It had started as a way for the city to really pull together as a community and demonstrate how far they had come. The number of special events associated with the festival couldn't be counted, but there was one event he had set his heart on being a part of.

He'd been ten when his parents had brought him to the show. The event had no official name since it had started as a simple meeting of young performers who'd decided on the spur of the moment to have a talent contest. Over the decades, the event had grown until it had become one of the most anticipated events of the festival. Nowadays, everyone simply called it The Performances. To be voted the victor of the competition was the dream of all the city's up and coming performers.

The cheers of the audience… The blazing lights and dance of colors…

He had vowed to himself that he would perform on that stage during the festival that day.

Even back then, he'd known that, if he wanted to participate, he would only have the one chance. Once he turned twenty one, he would be expected to officially take up his duties as his father's heir. It didn't bother him—was looking forward to the challenge, for the most part. But he'd been waiting ten years for this opportunity. He refused to miss it for one lousy banquet! The problem, of course, being that he couldn't let his dad down either by not showing up when he'd already given his word that he would attend the blasted thing.

To top it off, his mother had taken his driver's license for a, ah, harmless joke he'd played on the Koizumi girl and he wasn't due to get it back until the week after next. On the bright side, she hadn't actually grounded him.

Which was why he was currently drumming his fingers in the back seat of a car on his way home from a party at the park with his fellow university juniors. In the front seats sat the blond Hakuba Saguru and the dark-skinned Hattori Heiji. The former had not originally intended to attend the student party, but one of the perks of rank was the ability to order people around. And the blonde had decided that if he had to go then so did Hattori, not that the other minded. Unlike his uptight friend, Hattori liked parties. Watching the two bicker had been a reliable source of amusement for the magician all through the day.

Well, at least he knew where he could always find a good laugh. All he'd have to do was lock the two in a room then sit back and watch the show. Strange how two people who'd known each other as long as they had could find so much to disagree about—or perhaps it was precisely because they'd known each other for so long?

Now, however, the entertainment had stopped for the moment as the blonde stared stiffly ahead at the road (sulking?) and Hattori pulled out his phone and started tapping out text messages (probably ranting via type to his friend Toyama Kazuha. She often complained that every time the two fought she had to hear all about it. Considering how often they fought, well, it was easy to see why she was fed up with it. Yet Hattori couldn't seem to break the habit).

Thoughts wandering back to his dilemma with the banquet and the performance competition, Kaito let his gaze drift to the street passing by outside the window.

He froze, indigo eyes going wide.

"Stop the car!"

Hakuba's foot slammed on the breaks automatically without any input from his brain. Tires screeched and everyone in the car lurched violently forward. The blonde himself let out an 'oof' as his seatbelt jerked him back from a collision with the steering wheel. Hattori let out a yelp of pain as he cracked his head against the window he'd been half leaning on. His phone jumped out of his fingers like a live thing and bounced on his knee before disappearing into the darkness around his feet.

"What the hell?!" Hattori burst out, craning his neck around so he could get a look out every window of the car. Not seeing anything particularly out of the ordinary, he turned his attention to Kaito. But the magician was already gone. The car door swung lazily, indicating his route of departure.

"I don't see him," Hakuba said, forgetting that he wasn't talking to Hattori.

A barrage of honks dragged both their attention to the line of cars piling up behind them.

"We need to move to the side of the road."

Hakuba nodded and did just that, the open door flapping a little with the movement. Thankfully, it didn't hit anything.

X

Kudo Shinichi had not been having a good day. For one, he was late. His alarm clock had run out of batteries without his knowledge and therefore failed to fulfill its purpose in life and wake him up that morning at seven like it had been told to. That meant he'd barely had any time at all to grab a piece of toast before he had to leave his home and sprint all the way to his university campus to make it on time for the exam that would determine half his grade for his chemistry class. That meant he hadn't been able to get his morning coffee. Days that began without coffee never went well. It was like an omen, really. Ever since he'd been in junior high, he'd noticed that things tended to go wrong when he didn't have his customary morning cup of coffee (yes, he'd been drinking coffee for that long. He couldn't actually remember when the habit had started). Of course, he supposed he could be biased. He had never been a morning person, and starting off the day cranky from lack of coffee didn't help. But the fact of the matter was that many of his worst memories were all from those days. There was the time he'd broken his leg falling down the stairs. Then there had been the food poisoning incident in high school. The chem. experiment where his lab partner had mixed up a crucial chemical and the entire thing exploded in his face had also been on one of those coffee deficient days. And he would never forget the time he'd lost one of his favorite books to the merciless clutches of the river.

But he was getting sidetracked here. He had arrived late to the testing hall, but thankfully not by so much that he hadn't been able to complete the exam, even if he didn't have the time he would have liked to have in order to check his answers. Hopefully, he hadn't made any major errors out of haste. That was the kind of mistake he hated most—the ones you knew you could've gotten right if you'd just paid a little more attention. So it turned out oversleeping hadn't been the terrible catastrophe it could've been. Unfortunately, it was only the beginning of his woes.

He had been headed for the nearest café that he knew sold decent coffee after leaving the testing hall when he was nearly run over by a careless driver who'd been driving way too fast for such a populated area. When he finally reached the café, he'd discovered that it was closed for the day. Feeling slightly betrayed, he had decided to head to the library. He had one more exam to study for and the coffee shop beside the library was good even if it wasn't his first choice.

It was a half hour walk from where he was to the library in question, but he didn't really mind. The weather was nice and a little exercise could be just what he needed to settle his frazzled nerves.

He had stopped outside a bakery on the way when it happened. Standing before the large, bakery windows, he peered inside at the rows of assorted pastries and cakes, wondering if he should buy something. The one piece of toast he'd had that morning felt like ages ago and he'd missed lunch entirely. He'd never had anything from this bakery before, but the smells wafting out from inside it whenever the doors swung open were making his mouth water.

"Hey, you!"

Come to think of it, had he remembered to grab his wallet before rushing out the door this morning? He checked his pockets. Yep, there it was. Thank goodness. It would have just put the icing on the cake if he'd left that at home and had to waste time running back now to get it. He had just made up his mind to buy the fruit tart when a hand fell on his shoulder.

Startled, he turned around quickly.

For the fraction of an instant his eyes met a pair of indigo orbs he was sure he'd never seen before. Then a sudden wave of vertigo swamped his senses and the world went black.

X

Hattori was the first to spot the magician as he reappeared by their car. His jaw dropped but no words came out.

"Kuroba! What do you think you're doing?" the blonde beside him hissed, horrified.

Kaito rolled his eyes as he tucked the unconscious boy into the back seat. "What does it look like?"

"It _looks_ like you're committing a crime!"

"I'm just borrowing him for a moment," Kaito replied, waving a dismissive hand at the accusation. "I'm not going to hurt him. Now hurry up and start the car before someone sees."

"I can't believe you're doing this!" It seemed Hattori had found his voice. "What is your father going to say when he finds out?"

"But he isn't." Indigo eyes fixed the two mortified young men with a steely look that momentarily froze the blood in their veins.

Hakuba swallowed nervously. "But…"

Indigo eyes narrowed.

The blonde gave up and started the car. Beside him, Hattori turned to thump his head against the car window. Between getting in trouble for going along with Kaito's mad schemes and landing themselves on the magician's bad side (or even more on it than he usually was, in the blonde's case), they would both rather choose the former. Hakuba cast another anxious look at the newest passenger in his car and prayed that, if anyone had seen them, that no one had gotten his license plate number. Why oh why had he been born into a clan that served one of the world's craziest families? He must have done something truly awful in a past life and this was his punishment.

And did Hattori really have to keep knocking on the window with his forehead? In Hakuba's opinion, the other didn't really have the brain cells to spare.

The sooner they got back to the Kuroba Estate, the better.

X

"So are you going to explain to us why we've suddenly become accomplices in a kidnapping?" Hattori asked in a whisper despite the fact that they were standing in the sitting room of Kaito's private quarters with the door shut and locked and all the curtains drawn. He couldn't help the way his fingers were fidgeting with his sleeves. What he really wanted to do was run out the door and pretend that he didn't know one Kuroba Kaito at all and therefore could have nothing to do with any plot the mad magician had up his sleeves. Unfortunately, it was years too late for that. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hakuba pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut. Over the years, he'd learned that this meant the blonde was doing his best to convince the world (and himself) that he was somewhere else. It never worked, but that didn't seem to stop the blonde from trying.

"Haven't you two noticed yet?" the mastermind behind their predicament asked incredulously. "Just look at him!"

This was, in point of fact, an action they had both been trying to avoid. Out of sight, out of mind and all that (not that this had ever worked either). In addition to the reminder that they had just abducted some random stranger off the streets, they both had enough of a sense of shame to feel embarrassed whenever their eyes happened to brush past the victim of said abduction. Neither of them could yet believe that they had been a part of such a heinous deed.

"Well?" Kaito demanded, growing impatient. "Do you see it yet or do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Reluctantly, one pair of green eyes and one pair of brown inched to the young man Kaito had laid on the sitting room couch. Sock-clad feet dangled over the side of the couch as he lay half curled amidst the velvety cushions. He was dressed in simple jeans, a plain T-shirt, and a slightly faded jacket. Nothing of any particular note there. Their eyes jumped over his face to note that his hair was black and mostly neat but for a rather peculiar tuft that stuck up in the back. Finally, they couldn't avoid it any longer and looked to his face. Feathery, black bangs shadowed part of it, but they could still make out enough of his features for the realization to click.

"No way," Hattori gasped, breaking the silence. "He—he looks just like you!"

"Not exactly," Hakuba countered with a frown. After the initial shock, his analytical mind automatically began to pick out the little differences. There was the obvious: the difference in hair color and the way the stranger's hair was smooth where Kuroba's was wild and spiky and had never been neat in his life. Then there was the face itself. The stranger's features were softer and more fine—almost delicate in a way that reminded him of _someone_, though he couldn't for the life of him pinpoint who. The thought nagged at him as his frown deepened.

"The resemblance is amazing though," Kaito was saying as he gently tilted the stranger's head up to better examine his face. "With a little work, he could definitely pass for me, at least among people who don't see me every day."

"Wait," Hattori said slowly. "You…you're not actually thinking about—but that's crazy!"

"No, it's perfect," Kaito retorted. Indigo eyes gleamed madly. "How else am I going to be in two places at once?"

"But that means he's going to have to pretend to be you!"

"Well, duh. There are three weeks before the banquet. I'm sure I can teach him enough about what to do by then. It's just a banquet after all."

"I believe there is a major flaw in your plan," Hakuba cut in dryly. "You have just kidnapped him off the street. I highly doubt he is going to want to listen to anything you say, let alone agree to be your stunt double."

For once, Hattori was in perfect agreement with his blond friend. "Yeah. I mean, I'd run if I were him."

The magician waved away their skepticism with a cocky grin. "I'm sure I can manage. I can be very persuasive."

"Somehow, I doubt even your silver tongue will work in this situation."

"Really? Would you like to make a bet then? If he says yes, you'll, hmm, how about you'll just owe me one, and if he says no then I'll burn that photo I have of you from that pool party last year when you didn't realize there was alcohol in the punch."

The blonde blanched but shook his head hurriedly. Embarrassing as that photo was, the mere idea of owing Kuroba Kaito anything was much, much worse.

Hattori coughed and tactfully changed the subject. "So I'm assuming you didn't get his name?"

"That's what you two are going to go find out while I wait for him to wake up."

"…Oh." He'd certainly stuck his foot in that one. On the bright side, that would mean not having to be here when the stranger woke. Which was good. And it meant he could leave now. That was also good. Anything to get away from this awkward, awkward situation.

He turned towards the door. "I'll just head over to the Hall of Records or something."

"I'll come with you," Hakuba muttered, hurrying after him.

Kaito watched them go with amusement before turning back to his guest. Perhaps he should relocate him to a more comfortable place. Waking with aches and pains was unlikely to make the stranger more amicable.

X

This was not his bed. It was too big and he could feel some kind of stitched pattern on the covers underneath him that his own plain-colored covers shouldn't have. Blue eyes flew open to stare up at a ceiling that was equally not right. What in the world…? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was leaving the testing hall and heading for the library. He'd stopped on the way by a bakery and…

His thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar voice piping up from somewhere to his right. "Ah, hello there! I'm glad you're finally awake. I didn't expect you to be out so long, I was starting to get a bit worried."

Shinichi turned his head slightly to see a young man with a mop of brown hair seated beside the bed and grinning cheerfully at him. There was a window behind him. The quality of the light coming in through it suggested that it was already some time in the afternoon. Shinichi stared, mind whirring.

"Don't worry," the stranger was saying. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. So if you're feeling up t—"

Shinichi didn't wait for him to finish. Rolling over the side of the bed opposite the wild-haired young man's seat, he landed on his feet and bolted for the door. Unfortunately, his captor was faster.

The stranger lunged, tackling the smaller boy to the floor before he could reach the door. A brief tussle ensued.

The crazy stranger was stronger than he was, Shinichi noted, but he had the strength of desperation on his side. After all, he had no idea what the lunatic wanted, and there was no way he was waiting around to find out. No normal person went around randomly snatching people off the streets. He managed to get a knee into the lunatic's stomach and for the briefest of instants he thought he would make it. Then he was flat on the plush carpet again with his hands pinned on either side of his head and his legs trapped in a position where he couldn't even twitch.

"Will you just listen for a moment?" the lunatic demanded, sounding half exasperated and half amused. "I already said I'm not going to hurt you."

Right. Like Shinichi was going to take his word for it. Brilliant, blue eyes glared balefully up at the stranger, but Shinichi did stop struggling (though mostly because he didn't have a choice and didn't want to waste energy on futile gestures).

Kaito thought with mild exasperation that if he'd known it would be this much trouble to just get the boy to _listen_ to what he had to say, he would've tied the boy down while he'd still been out cold. On second thought, that would probably have made even worse of a first impression, so he supposed it was a good thing he hadn't.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kaito. Does this mean you're ready to listen?"

Shinichi pressed his lips together into a thin line. He didn't bother dignifying the question with an answer. After all, it was pretty obvious he wasn't going anywhere.

A rather loud rumble broke the silence. Both young men blinked before Shinichi realized that it was the sound of his own stomach growling, reminding him of exactly why he had wanted to stop by the bakery in the first place. An embarrassed flush crept up onto his face as his captor started to chuckle.

Finally getting his laughter under control, Kaito offered his 'guest' one of his most charming smiles. "How about this? If you promise to listen to what I have to say, I'll let you up and get you something to eat. I can get you anything you want. After that, if you don't like what you hear, I'll escort you home and you'll never hear from me again. Sound fair?"

"Not really," Shinichi quipped, "but I guess it's the only choice I have. Now please get off of me."

Kaito bit back the urge to laugh again. He could tell his guest was still nervous, but he was clearly determined not to show it. It was rather cute, he thought absently.

"Good." Getting to his feet, Kaito offered the other a hand up. He wasn't really surprised when the boy didn't take it though. "So what would you like?"

"Coffee," he said shortly, straightening out his clothes. "Black."

"Okay, coffee, got it. What else?"

Shinichi shrugged. He didn't really care as long as it came with coffee. But the Kaito person was still watching him expectantly, so he tossed around and came up with, "A pie."

"I'll just go see the chef then. Wait here."

And he was gone.

Shinichi blinked at the place where the stranger had been for a moment before the young man's parting words registered in his mind. The _chef_?

**TBC**

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**A.N**: Well, I'm still having trouble with Dappled Light, and I was just so frustrated that I decided I needed some humor. And so this was born. I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time!


	2. The Arrangement

Disclaimer: I don't own the DCMK characters.

* * *

**Smile for Me**

2: The Arrangement

Letting his breath out in a short puff, Shinichi perched himself on the very edge of the couch in the suite's sitting room and het his eyes wander over the walls and furnishings once more. He had already made a circuit of the suite while he waited for Kaito to return (after trying the door anyway. It had, however, been locked from the outside—which was odd in itself since the lock didn't look like the kind that could be secured from the outside. But he'd decided that really wasn't important). In addition to the sitting room and the bedroom, there was a study and a bathroom. All the furniture in the room was clearly of good quality and craftsmanship. A look out one of the windows revealed that the suite was on the upper floor of a building that stood somewhere in the midst of sprawling green lawns and well-tended groves of trees. So even if he did manage to get out of the building, he would surely be spotted long before he found cover. In the distance, he could see the hint of city buildings. If he had to guess, he'd say he was currently on the grounds of one of the estates on the outskirts of the city proper. So this Kaito had to be a member of a very wealthy family.

That begged the question, what could the guy possibly want from him?

He stewed over the question as he idly traced the clover pattern on one of the couch cushions. They were all four-leaf clovers, he noted absentmindedly. The same leaf appeared on a lot of the items in the suite. Even the translucent, white curtains had denser, white clovers stitched along the edges. Something about that niggled at the back of his mind, but his attention was diverted by the return of his captor.

Kaito had a rather large tray with him. On it lay an assortment of pies of varying sizes. With both his hands occupied, Shinichi was expecting him to either close the door with a foot or a shoulder. Instead, his captor only cast it a pointed look. The door swung shut under his gaze as though being pushed by an invisible hand and the soft click of the lock turning itself could be heard.

Blue eyes widened in shock as Shinichi's heart rate sped up again. Oh no, this young man was a magic user! That meant he wasn't just a member of some wealthy family. He had to have roots within the aristocracy.

"You didn't say what kind of pie, so I just asked for a few different ones," his captor was saying with a cheerful grin as he set the tray down on the table before the couch. "This one's chicken, and this one's vegetarian. Then this one here is apple, the one with the cream is banana, here's a lemon one, and this last one is strawberry. But first, the coffee!" Picking up the steaming pot that had also been on the tray, Kaito poured a generous amount into a mug and slid it across the table. "So, what kind of pie would you like? Or maybe a piece of each? They're not all that big. We could split them all half-half."

"I—I'll just…have a slice of the chicken one and the lemon one…" Shinichi stammered, trying not to gape. He hadn't really been serious when he'd made his request. All he'd wanted was a moment alone to collect his wits and look around to see if there was a way out. He hadn't exactly expected his kidnapper to go to such lengths over the issue, and he definitely hadn't expected to be offered a whole assortment to pick from. They all looked freshly baked too. The delicious aromas were making his mouth water and his stomach growl embarrassingly as it reminded him of how empty it had been all day.

"Right. Chicken first, I assume?"

He nodded mutely then took a large gulp of coffee.

Kaito produced a plate with a flick of his wrist. Then he gestured at the chicken pie. A perfect wedge lifted itself from the tin without the aid of any knife or other tool. It flew over to the waiting plate and set down gently. A fork was slid onto the dish next to it before Kaito offered the whole set to Shinichi as though nothing at all out of the ordinary had happened. That done, he procured a slice for himself as well and took a seat in one of the armchairs opposite the couch.

"So," he started, indigo eyes turning serious. "I have a problem that I was hoping you would help me with. Now, I know this is all rather sudden, and you probably just want to go home, but please just hear me out before you make a decision."

Shinichi nodded slowly. To be honest, his own curiosity was growing sharper by the moment. "Go on then."

X

Being the sons of families who'd been prominent in both foreign affairs and law enforcement for decades made it easy for Hattori and Hakuba to gain access to the Hall of Records. The guards there were all familiar with their faces and greeted them with crisp salutes as they came. The two young men nodded back before going to register at the front desk. Being one of the most important archives of information in Ekoda, the Hall staff was required to keep track of every soul who so much as set foot over the threshold.

That done, they made their way to the center of the building where a massive, circular chamber hummed quietly with dozens of computers. Pulling out chairs at adjacent consoles, they set to work. They didn't have much to go on. From his appearance, they could guess that Kuroba's 'guest' was about their age. Other than that though, all they knew was what he looked like and the area of the city in which they'd found him.

"Well, this could be him," Hakuba said almost two hours later. "Oh, never mind, this one moved out of the city last year."

Hattori sighed then straightened abruptly in his seat. "I found him! Kudo Shinichi. Oh hey, I guess he goes to our school. Funny, I would've thought we'd have noticed before now. Oh, wait, but he's a sophomore."

"Kudo…" The blonde's brows furrowed. "I've heard that name before…"

"Now that you mention it, it does sound kinda familiar."

Quickly pulling up another window, Hakuba tapped a few keys, brown eyes skimming over the screen before coming to a stop. "Here! Kudo Shinichi is the son of the author Kudo Yuusaku and a Kudo Yukiko."

"You mean the actress? I've seen some of her movies. I thought he looked a bit like someone I'd seen before."

"As did I."

"Er, isn't this a bit of a problem? When they notice he's missing, there's going to be a huge ruckus."

"Perhaps not. According to the records, they've been touring the world for some time now. They only come back to Ekoda once or twice a year, and their last visit was last month. It is unlikely that they will be back again anytime soon."

"Guess we got lucky then. Man, I still can't believe we did that…"

It was Hakuba's turn to sigh. "Please don't remind me."

X

"So you want me to stand in for you at the Skyline Banquet on the day of the festival so that you can go participate in the Performances," Shinichi summarized.

Kaito beamed. "That's right. It'll only be for the one day, and you'll get a great meal out of it."

"But…why? It's just a talent show. It doesn't really mean anything. Why would you go to such lengths just for that? Besides, it'll come around again in a few more years."

"I know, but this is the last chance for me." For the first time since their conversation had begun, Kaito's face and voice were completely serious. He caught Shinichi's gaze and held it. His guest found himself unable to move, pinned as he was by the sheer intensity in those eyes. "I'll be turning twenty one soon. Then I will have to officially take up my duties as a member of the Kuroba family. But before that, there's just one thing I want to do. I know it doesn't mean much to most people, but dreams don't have to, right? It means something to me. I've been waiting for this chance for ten years. It's the only one I've got. So please, will you help me?"

Shinichi didn't answer immediately. In truth, he had originally been sure that he wouldn't want anything to do with anything his crazy kidnapper wanted, but now… He could see the earnestness in the magician's face, as well as the burning determination to chase a dream. He couldn't just say no to that. At the same time though, he didn't really think that this plan to trick all the officials at the banquet was the right way to go about things, even if he could understand how Kaito had come to the conclusion that it was.

"It's only for the banquet?" he asked just to be sure.

"Well, the day of the festival, but the only part of it where you'd have to appear is the banquet. For the rest you can pretty much do whatever you want."

"But won't people notice? We look alike, but not to the point where I'd say we're easy to mistake for one another after the first glance."

"I'll help you with the disguise. I'm quite good at disguises."

"And I'm not a very good actor."

"Most of the people attending the banquet won't ever have met me before. In the meantime, we have three weeks before the festival. That's plenty of time for me to teach you what you're supposed to do and say. These functions are really just a kind of meet and greet."

Shinichi fell silent, looking down into his mug. He was on his third cup of coffee (it was really good coffee—a fact that had gone a long way in soothing his frazzled nerves). However, reliable as it was in other ways, the warm, brown liquid offered no answers.

Well, it wasn't like he'd had any plans for the festival himself. If this hadn't come up, he would probably have spent it at home, reading. Finals were also almost over for the semester and classes weren't due to start again until after summer vacation. His last test was for a history class—something he'd always had excellent memory for and therefore didn't need much time to study. If he could help someone realize an important dream just by going to a banquet instead of reading at home then there wasn't really any reason to object.

And, well, he had to admit that part of him really did want to help.

"All right," he said finally, looking up. "I'll do it."

"Great! Oh, I guess I never properly introduced myself, did I?" Bounding to his feet, the magician swept into a deep bow. "My name is Kuroba Kaito. You can call me Kaito. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Shinichi blinked, slightly taken aback by the—in his opinion—somewhat unnecessary gesture.

Wait. Kuroba…

That was when it clicked. Of course, Kaito had already mentioned his family name, but it hadn't really registered in his mind until now. The clovers, the magic, the name… A diamond inscribed with a four-leaf clover was the crest of the Kuroba family. The same Kuroba family who were said to be the most powerful magic users in the country—maybe even the world.

Suddenly, Shinichi was feeling nervous all over again. Nervous and more than a little self conscious.

But Kaito was still waiting for a response, so he cleared his throat and tried his best not to stammer. "Kudo Shinichi. Um, it's nice to meet you too, I guess…"

X

Hakuba Saguru allowed himself a sigh as he walked aimlessly through the streets of Ekoda. He and Hattori had gotten dinner together after leaving the Hall of Records. Then the dark young man had gotten a call and had to hurry home. The blonde had considered heading home himself, but after an afternoon cooped up in the Hall he'd decided what he really wanted was a walk in the open air. So here he was, idly browsing shop windows in one of the city's more prominent shopping districts.

"You!"

Attention caught by the unfamiliar but clearly outraged female voice, Hakuba turned just in time to see a young woman with long, dark brown hair making a beeline straight for him. He had a split second to wonder why she had her angry blue eyes fixed on him—he didn't think they'd ever met before—before a punch caught him square in the jaw hard enough to knock him off his feet. Shouts of surprise and alarm raced through the crowd around him as he landed spread-eagled on the floor, white and ultraviolet stars dancing across his vision. Through them and his pounding head, he could make out the girl in question standing over him like some kind of vengeful deity.

Her eyes all but spat fire as she demanded, "What did you do to Shinichi?!"

**TBC**


	3. Fateful Encounters

Disclaimer: I don't own the DCMK characters.

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**Smile for Me**

3: Fateful Encounters

With his brain still rattling from the unexpected assault, it took Hakuba several moments longer to comprehend the situation than it normally would have. As it was, it took him longer still to place the name. That was when it all clicked and he would have groaned if it weren't for the fact that he'd already had all the wind knocked out of him.

_Of course_ someone had seen them. And _of course_ it had to be someone who knew their…guest. And it was really just his luck that the girl knew how to punch. Hard. He wondered briefly if his jaw had been broken. He wouldn't be surprised. Fortunately, that didn't appear to be the case. That didn't, however, mean that it didn't hurt like hell.

This was all Kuroba's fault.

He was definitely going to petition his father about helping him find a job in a different city once he graduated. Maybe if he was extremely lucky he could get a post in a foreign embassy.

"Well?" the girl demanded again, cracking her knuckles threateningly. The sight sent chills down the blonde's spine. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Still holding his aching jaw, Hakuba sat up. He made sure to move slowly lest he provoke her into hitting him again. His jaw had survived the first assault, but he wasn't all that confident in its ability to withstand a second. Besides, the girl had every right to be upset at him. He should really be thanking whatever powers were listening that she hadn't just called the police on him. That would have led to a lot of explaining to people like his and Hattori's fathers that he really didn't want to have to do.

"Your friend is perfectly fine, I assure you," he began, deciding it was in his best interests to be as direct as possible and assuage her concerns. "I am very sorry if our actions left you with the wrong impression—" he winced inwardly at the half lie. Wrong impression, ha! "—but Shinichi is currently staying with an acquaintance of mine. Rest assured, he is in no danger."

"Really." She didn't sound entirely like she believed him, but she did back up a step and didn't try to punch him again when he clambered to his feet. "And who is this _acquaintance_ of yours that he's staying with?"

Uh oh. The blonde's mind raced. He couldn't tell her that her friend was at the Kurobas', but he couldn't not answer either. If he took too long to answer though, she might not believe anything he said.

"His name is Kaito," he said finally, hoping she wouldn't question the lack of a family name. "He's a student from your university. We both are, actually. My name is Saguru. We met your friend a few days ago and Kaito invited him on this trip a couple of our classmates and we had planned since I couldn't go and they didn't want to waste the ticket."

"If that's true then why hasn't Shinichi been answering his phone?"

He was starting to sweat under the girl's piercing stare. "The place is in the mountains. I don't think they have any reception there."

"I don't believe you," she said frankly, eyes hardening. "Shinichi would never have just agreed to go on a trip with people he barely knew. And even if he did he would have called and told me. Now tell me the truth or I'll take you to the police myself."

Despite the bruise he could just feel growing on his jaw and the fear that he was about to get another, Hakuba couldn't help but be impressed at how the girl was handling herself. She was obviously worried, but she was still managing to think clearly and not jump to conclusions. He considered his options. He could continue trying to lie, but he had the distinct feeling that that would only lead to her fulfilling her promise to drag him to the police station. That, in turn, would lead to those very awkward conversations he'd been dreading since this whole debacle began. His second option was to tell her the truth. That could get him in trouble with Kuroba, but that could possibly be balanced out by the fact that this young woman was one of Shinichi's friends. Surely Shinichi would prefer that his friends not be unnecessarily stressed over his whereabouts.

In the end, he decided he would tell her the truth, but it wasn't only because it looked like the lesser of two evils. The truth was that part of him really wanted to tell her—partly to get it off his chest, and partly because the idea of her walking away with the belief that he was some kind of awful criminal bothered him. But how was he going to put this?

X

Mouri Ran had gotten up early that morning looking forward to a bright, normal day with her friends. She'd already had her last exams for the semester so it was time to put work out of her mind and begin enjoying her vacation.

It was Shinichi's birthday, and she and Suzuki Sonoko had been planning on surprising him after his chemistry exam (well, technically it was only going to be a surprise because they knew from years of experience that the boy could never remember his own birthday, but that was beside the point). They had intended to go out to lunch together at a nice restaurant that everyone on campus had been praising for months now. It had been a bit of a compromise since Sonoko had wanted a party, but Ran knew Shinichi didn't like that sort of thing. In the end, Ran's argument that they shouldn't force a party on someone who wouldn't appreciate it had won out. It was supposed to be a nice, relaxing day to just hang out and catch up since their class schedules had clashed this semester, leaving them very little time to meet.

Everything was going well until she'd arrived outside of the building Shinichi's exam was taking place in. She'd only just arrived when she got a call from Sonoko to let her know that the other girl would be late and that they should just meet up at the restaurant. Ran had agreed and continued to wait. When half an hour had passed and people had stopped coming out of the building with no sign of Shinichi, she'd gone inside to search for him. Not finding anything, she asked one of the last students left in the building and found out that her friend had left via said building's little used back door. That just figured. Slightly exasperated but not discouraged, she'd tracked him to one of his favorite coffee shops—which was currently closed. From there, she'd been directed towards the library.

It was on her way there that she had seen it.

She had seen a stranger shoving someone who looked remarkably like Shinichi into the backseat of a car before the vehicle in question pulled away from the curb and drove off. She'd gotten a glimpse of a young man with blond hair in the driver's seat. The car's back windows were tinted so she hadn't been able to confirm what she thought she'd seen. Even so…

She hadn't known what to think.

Had it been her imagination? But she'd known Shinichi for almost their entire lives. No, she was pretty sure it hadn't been her imagination. That had definitely been Shinichi.

Her (reserved and socially awkward) friend had just been driven away by a bunch of strangers.

It took a moment for the severity of the situation to sink in to her bewildered mind.

One of her best friends had just been kidnapped before her very eyes! _And she hadn't done anything about it_.

But…why would anyone kidnap Shinichi? If it had been Sonoko, she would have understood. Her other best friend came from a rather wealthy family who owned many of Ekoda's most prominent businesses. Shinichi on the other hand lived in an apartment by himself and didn't wear or carry with him anything that might make him look like a good target for greedy criminals. Unless, of course, those people knew who his parents were. Could that be it? Shinichi didn't generally tell people about his parents in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention, but it wasn't exactly hard information to find for someone who was actually looking.

She'd called Sonoko to cancel their plans. When the other girl had asked her what was wrong, she'd hesitated and told her that she would explain later. She wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't just come out and told Sonoko what she'd seen. Perhaps it was because part of her still didn't really believe it. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding.

With that in mind, she'd decided to check Shinichi's place.

It was empty and there weren't any notes.

She tried calling him next.

He didn't pick up.

Growing rapidly more anxious, she headed out for the library once more. She knew that you couldn't report someone missing unless they'd been gone for at least twenty four hours, but did that apply when you thought you'd witnessed a kidnapping?

The questions were still whirling through her head when she'd spotted a young man with blond hair walking along the street. She recognized him immediately. In an instant, all the pent up worry morphed into anger and she charged without thinking.

And that was how she'd ended up here, seated across a café table from one Hakuba Saguru.

"You're telling me that this Kaito is actually one of the Kurobas, and he had you guys kidnap Shinichi because he wanted to ask him for a _favor_?"

The blonde sighed, running a haphazard hand through his hair. "I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but it is the truth. I swear it. If you would like, I'm sure I could find a way to set up a meeting for you so you can ask him about it yourself."

"I'd rather see Shinichi," she said dryly.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised, earning himself a startled look. Her expression made him smile. "I understand that you are concerned for your friend's wellbeing. Honestly I don't know what Kuroba thinks he's doing, grabbing someone off the streets like that, but I'm sure even he can understand your desire to make sure your friend is safe for yourself."

"Well, I guess if you could set up a meeting, I would greatly appreciate it." Sitting back in her seat, Ran finally allowed herself a smile. "Thank you."

Hakuba blinked in confusion. "I…is that all?"

Tilting her head to one side, Ran raised an eyebrow. "I believe you. You don't look like you're lying anymore. And I'm sure anyone could come up with something less weird if you were just trying to make something up. But I want to see Shinichi by the end of the week or I'll change my mind about reporting you all to the police. In the meantime, I expect a call from him before tomorrow night to tell me he's all right. Got it?"

He nodded. "I give you my word."

X

Night had fallen over Ekoda. Its gentle wings folded over the Kuroba Estate, plunging it into a peaceful darkness. Or at least it was peaceful outside. Inside a certain set of rooms, things were a little bit different.

"What?! You never said anything about me having to stay here for the next three weeks!"

Indigo eyes blinked at the sudden outburst. "I didn't?"

"No!"

"Oh, well, now you know. Is it a problem?"

Shinichi spluttered. "Yes!"

Kaito couldn't help but laugh at the vehement exclamation. "Oh come on, it'll be fun. Besides, it would just take too much time if we had to commute back and forth, and it would increase the possibility of being spotted. This plan won't work if we're seen together by anyone who's not supposed to know. Just think about it as a vacation away from home."

"But I have another final exam in a few days!"

That gave the magician a moment's pause. Shinichi was doing him a favor after all. He couldn't in good conscience keep the other from his exams. "I'll arrange something. Don't worry. I'm not going to jeopardize your grades." Problem solved, he offered Shinichi one of his most charming smiles. "So just relax."

Shinichi stared incredulously at him for several moments longer before deflating. This guy was unbelievable. Were all the aristocracy this…this… He didn't even know how to describe it. Shaking his head, he sank back down onto the couch with a sigh.

"Fine." Now that he'd given in to the inevitable, he found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. All the events of the day had left him feeling drained and ready to leave it all behind for a few blessed hours in dreamland. Maybe he'd even wake up to find that it had all just been some crazy dream…

Indigo eyes watched quietly as he curled up on the couch, mind already drifting across the waves of sleep. A bemused smile played across the magician's face. He had the feeling that the next few weeks were going to be interesting.

**TBC**


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